'Second Club' Dilemma

Orikoru

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By 'second club' I mean next longest after driver basically. I'm having a bit of a dilemma over what I should be using there now. For about four years I had 5 wood and 7 wood in the bag (both Cobra F9) and this worked fine. But just lately I've had a change up for a couple of reasons:
  1. On a couple of Toptracer sessions I realised there wasn't a very big gap between 5 & 7. 5 wood is maybe 5 yards longer on average. I might be striking 7 wood better than I used to which has squeezed the gap a little, I'm not sure. The lofts are set at 17 and 21.
  2. Very unusual for me but I hooked a few tee shots with the 5 wood, while setting up for my typical fade, which killed a couple of rounds for me. So lost a bit of faith in it.

So last month I ordered a Callaway Paradym X 3HL on a bit of a whim. I've not had a 3 wood for years because I found them difficult to hit with my low-ish swing speed. So I went for the high launch version - at 16.5 it's only half a degree less than the 5 wood I was using, so I thought it was worth a try - got a great deal on Callaway pre-owned as well. Having used it for a couple of rounds and on the range, there are a few thoughts going round in my head now:
  • It is a bit longer than my 5W when I flush it, but it's probably harder to hit also. On the plus side it only seems to fade - more than the 5W did - but that's possibly preferable to having a two-way miss. The Paradym X is meant to be slightly draw-biased but I'm not really seeing that, it only really fades/slices.
  • Just got a new driver which seems like a bit of a beast - a lot of the point of your 'second club' is to be a fairway finder, but I'd wouldn't say this 3 wood is any easier to hit than my driver now, which gives me less reasons to reach for it really. Off the deck I wouldn't hit it all that often, as there would be a reasonable chance of a fat or a big slice. I'd only hit it if I thought the extra distance would get me on the green and there was relatively not much trouble to worry about.
  • Is there a more forgiving 3 wood out there than the one I've bought? Instinct says there probably isn't, so the fact that I'm prone to slicing this one is just me being me.
  • Perhaps I'd be better off simply upgrading to my 5 wood to a newer 5 wood and that may get me more distance anyway? And be easier to hit straight than the 3HL?

Sorry for the long ramble - has anyone else gone through a similar dilemma over what to use as their second longest club? What options did you try and what did you end up with? Is there an unsliceable 3 wood out there or shall I narrow my search back to 5 woods?

Cheers all.
 

Lord Tyrion

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I think we have a fixation with the idea of gapping. The reality is that this often only applies to better golfers. If you do not hit the ball consistently, having a club for every 10-15yds doesn't really happen. Certainly not for the longer clubs.

I have a 3w but that is for off the tee if my driver is being naughty. It's a good club for me, about 16° I think. My next club is a 23° hybrid. I've tried all manner of lofts and clubs inbetween but I don't hit them consistently. I've sucked it up, accepted the reduction in distance, and gone for consistency. Given up on the 1 in 7 glory shot, 6 in 7 scuttlers.

Maybe your longest club is your 7 wood? Forget the number on the club, if you hit it well use that, drop the 3 & 5.

(what @CliveW posted also makes sense as you may be doing something wrong that is simple to fix)
 

VVega

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“Make your own” mini driver - get another driver, set loft higher than your usual one and cut the shaft 1-2in shorter or just grip down on it. Best of both worlds - easier to hit than a Fw wood and goes straighter than a driver / shorter distance.

Works for me, your mileage may vary :cool:
 

Orikoru

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I think we have a fixation with the idea of gapping. The reality is that this often only applies to better golfers. If you do not hit the ball consistently, having a club for every 10-15yds doesn't really happen. Certainly not for the longer clubs.

I have a 3w but that is for off the tee if my driver is being naughty. It's a good club for me, about 16° I think. My next club is a 23° hybrid. I've tried all manner of lofts and clubs inbetween but I don't hit them consistently. I've sucked it up, accepted the reduction in distance, and gone for consistency. Given up on the 1 in 7 glory shot, 6 in 7 scuttlers.

Maybe your longest club is your 7 wood? Forget the number on the club, if you hit it well use that, drop the 3 & 5.
It just doesn't really make sense to have two clubs that go similar distance. I'm sure I can find a club that's a bit longer than my current 5 wood and still relatively easy to hit, but going down the trial and error route to find it is a little annoying. 😄 But that's often the way it has to be. I can't really afford to do another fitting and go new after the driver I just got, so it'll be the second hand route. 7 wood is about 185-190 but I think there's a 205-210 club out there, I just need to find it.
 

Orikoru

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“Make your own” mini driver - get another driver, set loft higher than your usual one and cut the shaft 1-2in shorter or just grip down on it. Best of both worlds - easier to hit than a Fw wood and goes straighter than a driver / shorter distance.

Works for me, your mileage may vary :cool:
That would be essentially zero use off the deck though??
 

RichA

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I think we have a fixation with the idea of gapping. The reality is that this often only applies to better golfers. If you do not hit the ball consistently, having a club for every 10-15yds doesn't really happen. Certainly not for the longer clubs.

I have a 3w but that is for off the tee if my driver is being naughty. It's a good club for me, about 16° I think. My next club is a 23° hybrid. I've tried all manner of lofts and clubs inbetween but I don't hit them consistently. I've sucked it up, accepted the reduction in distance, and gone for consistency. Given up on the 1 in 7 glory shot, 6 in 7 scuttlers.

Maybe your longest club is your 7 wood? Forget the number on the club, if you hit it well use that, drop the 3 & 5.

(what @CliveW posted also makes sense as you may be doing something wrong that is simple to fix)
Yeah. Bang average golfer that I am, my best scores come when I ditch fairway woods and hybrids and have nothing between driver and 5-iron. Anywhere between 40-80 yard gap but no 220 yard slices into oblivion. It feels restrictive but the thing it restricts most is damage.
 

VVega

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True. How often though do you need to chase a few extra yards from the Fw compared to your reliable 5w?
Sorry, edit - if 5w not reliable, I’d suggest 3hy. Similar loft but easier to hit and lower flight that rolls out a bit more in the summer.
 

Arthur Wedge

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The only clubs between a driver and a 5 wood is

3 wood or 3HL wood

There are some mini drivers out there but they are too close to a driver

I have a 3HL - TM Q10 and it’s very good

You can’t go wrong with any ping fairway wood
 

Orikoru

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The only clubs between a driver and a 5 wood is

3 wood or 3HL wood

There are some mini drivers out there but they are too close to a driver

I have a 3HL - TM Q10 and it’s very good

You can’t go wrong with any ping fairway wood
Just to clarify - I'm looking for a 3 wood or 5 wood to sit between driver and 7 wood. Not something between driver and 5 wood. Yeah a mini-driver isn't going to be much use for me I don't think. I think I'm leaning towards another strong 5W and hope it's a little longer than my old one.
 

Slab

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I know you're ok with cobra as a brand, look at the cobra f max 3w (it'll be 2nd hand and pretty cheap)

Nice shallow head profile and diff shaft weight (regular lightweight and superlite) for diff swing speeds. The thing is so easy to hit compared to the convex head on many 3w's (for me at least)

edit: there may be a newer version of same thing from cobra but I haven't looked for it)
 

3 jabber

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Sounds like a case of experimenting with the loft settings on your 5 and 7 woods. Find something in between that works for you. I'd try lofting down the 7 as it will probably be more consistent than the 5.
 

HomerJSimpson

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Smashing my new driver 20 yards longer at the weekend has given me delusions of grandeur. The 210 yard club is out there, I can feel it.
Sometimes distance can be a beguiling mistress. Just because the driver seems to be longer you want everything to be longer. It would help if you analysed (I know you don't do stats) where your strengths and weaknesses are. Is it missing greens from say 150-180 and are you missing more than perhaps you should for your handicap. Are you not able to get up on the par 4's. Are you missing those long par 3's (190-210 yards where driver is too much). Work out what the issues are and work back to the gapping you have and want
 
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